THIS RESTAURANT DRAWS CUSTOMERS from well beyond its posh home turf of Oakville, where the sleek, modern and airy room overlooks Towne Square with floor-to-ceiling windows. Much of the credit goes to chef Rafa Covarrubias and the crack team assembled in his open kitchen, starting with chef de cuisine Jordan Wilkinson and sous chef Victoria Rinsma (Canada’s finalist for this fall’s S. Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition in Milan, where Covarrubias competed in 2021). Menus reflect Covarrubias’s Mexican heritage, along with myriad international influences. Opt for the tasting menu and expect to begin with cured seafood — like an aguachile of dry-aged kampachi with chiles torreados and soy vinaigrette. Or a carpaccio of hirame, flattened in a tortilla press and then rolled around its own poblano-spiked ceviche, topped with caviar and served in a pool of chilled apple consommé. Dry-aged Pekin duck roasted on the crown is a continually evolving mainstay — most recently served with ancho-spiced quince, smoked mushrooms, foie gras and duck jus. The à la carte menu features more conservative offerings (say, Iberico pork pluma with charcutière sauce) that are no less delicious. This summer expect corn-stuffed agnolotti, dressed up with flavourful references to esquites, Mexican street corn (cotija cheese, chiltepin chile and puffed sorghum). Service is professional, and the wine program, run by sommelier Martin Watson, keeps getting bigger and better.

Rafa is hitting his prime. BOLD flavours and a REFINED experience. Massimo Piedimonte